


the starting point

by NatureGirl202



Series: silent nights and fitful sleep [2]
Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M, War Hero Shepard, idk what happened with this, like dude !!! cooperate !!!, lol but yeah so idk about this one, was supposed to go one way went another
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-08
Updated: 2017-03-08
Packaged: 2018-10-01 05:23:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10181597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NatureGirl202/pseuds/NatureGirl202
Summary: she lives up to expectations by surpassing them.





	

She’s got an Alliance hat on and sunglasses over her eyes when she steps aboard the shuttle bay. Her red hair is tied into a tight bun and she’s got a duffel bag in each hand and her attire consists of a plain grey T-shirt, faded jeans, and combat boots that look like they’ve seen better days. He just happens to glance up from the console he’s toying with when she steps aboard and he finds himself staring. There’s something about her that instantly catches his attention, like she’s familiar, but he can’t quite place from where. He watches as she glances around the space, before her eyes land on him—or, he assumes, seeming as how they’re completely covered by her dark sunglasses—and his cheeks redden, fearing that he’d been caught staring. He turns his gaze back to the console, but watches from his peripheral as she approaches him.

“Uh, excuse me?” Her voice is unsure and the sound of it only adds to that strange familiarity about her. He turns, offering a friendly smile and she gives a hesitant one in response. “Can you point me to where Captain Anderson is?” He opens his mouth and is about to respond—he doesn’t know exactly where Anderson is, but suspects the brig is a good enough guess—when he’s interrupted by someone nearby.

“You the new secretary?” some asshole snickers as he approaches. Kaidan shoots the other man a sharp glare, but is ignored as the smirking man remains focused on the woman. Her expression is unreadable, mouth a straight line and eyes unseen.

“Something like that” she responds, tone completely neutral, though not too long from now Kaidan will know her well enough to detect the warning he missed. It’s the kind of warning that says “you don’t know what you’re getting into” and then later “I told you so” when shit’s hit the fan and you could’ve avoided it all if you’d only listened.

“Shepard!” a voice calls, catching everyone’s attention and Kaidan immediately recognizes the voice as that of Captain Anderson. The man could’ve been whispering and the whole room would still stand at attention. Kaidan feels his own back straightening with everyone else’s. He glances toward the woman and sees her start to smile and Anderson is approaching _them_ and he’s already putting the pieces together.

She removes her sunglasses, placing them atop her hat and yep, it’s Shepard, _the_ Commander Shepard, the hero of Elysium who’d been all over the vids during the Skyllian Blitz. Her eyes are a deep green and she’s got the scar cutting through her left eyebrow. She’s got a light dusting of freckles across her face which he hadn’t even noticed in the vids and he finds this new detail fascinating and he almost wants to count them for a brief moment, before he remembers this is _Commander Shepard_ and some asshole has just asked if she’s the secretary and Anderson has reached them.

“Commander Shepard,” Anderson greets, as enthusiastic as Kaidan’s ever seen him. He reaches out a hand to Shepard and she takes it without hesitation. “Glad to have you here.”

The handshake appears sturdy and Shepard’s still got that small grin that had formed at Anderson’s appearance. The two have some history, obviously. “Glad to be here, sir.”

The hands are released and Anderson gestures to the two men. “I see you’re already acquainting yourself with the crew.”

Shepard’s grin grows the slightest bit and something Kaidan almost wants to call _mischief_ flashes in her eyes. “Yes, but no names yet.” She turns quickly to the other man, who’s gone a little paler and his eyes are widened in clear fright and it’s all Kaidan can do to clamp down on the inside of his cheek to keep from grinning. She sticks her hand out to him. “Commander Shepard. You are?”

The man clears his throat and blinks a couple times, obviously trying to recover from his surprise. “Um, Sergeant Briggs… ma’am.” He takes her hand and the shake is slow, Briggs is obviously still a little nervous and Shepard is still grinning in a way that is friendly, but also _isn’t_. She releases his hand after only a moment, though, and turns toward Kaidan. As she does so, though, she shifts the slightest bit and it’s just enough to cut Briggs off, removing him from her sphere of acknowledgment.

Her eyes land on him and he watches as her smile shifts to something more genuine. He salutes her automatically, but she quickly waves that off, instead offering her hand for a shake. He takes it and her grip is warm and firm, skin somewhat callused and rough. Overall, her hand actually fits quite nicely in his, but he tries not to think too much further into that thought. “Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, ma’am.” They release hands, the air suddenly cool on his palm, and she gives him a nod.

“Pleasure meeting you, Lieutenant.” She’s still smiling at him and he can’t help but grin back.

“Likewise, Commander.”

She’s ushered away then by Anderson, wanting to give her a tour of the ship. He watches as she goes, ignoring Briggs’ mutterings about reassignment. He’d heard a bit about Commander Shepard, from vids and those rumors that seem to spread through the Alliance like wildfire. Most of them were flattering, a few not so much. He wonders how the image of her will fit in with the real thing, and if he’ll ever even find out.

“We all know how she got here anyway.” That comment of Briggs’ catches his attention and he turns sharply to the other man.

“What?”

Briggs gives him a look like it’s obvious. “You know what they say.”

Kaidan does, in fact, have a good guess as to which rumor Briggs is referring to. “You can’t believe every rumor you hear. Not even our business, anyway.”

Briggs scoffs. “It’s not a ‘rumor.’ The people who went to Basic with her said so themselves: she whored her way up here.”

It’s an absurdly stupid thing to say, that the woman who _singlehandedly_ held off a Batarian invasion only climbed the ranks through _sex_. And it’s not that he feels particularly protective over Shepard, at least not any more so than he would anyone else who seemed pleasant and respectable enough. It’s just that it’s so _ridiculous_ , and frankly, her sex life isn’t even any of their business and is this a natural ability of Briggs’, to piss off everyone in earshot?

Either way, he can feel his patience running short and he knows when he has to walk away. He won’t risk even the slightest chance of losing control, not again, and certainly not because some asshole doesn’t know boundaries. “You should probably watch what you say, Sergeant.” He’s not afraid to pull ranks if he has to, especially if it puts an end to this conversation.

Briggs’ eyes narrow. “Sir, yes, sir.” He speaks just loud enough to catch the attention of everyone else in the shuttle bay, which Kaidan suspects was his goal. The other man walks off and he can’t help but let out a sigh.

Well, at least he could say the first day was interesting.

 

* * *

He runs into her again a few hours later when the ships already left the docks. He’s working on a stubborn terminal that just won’t function right. He’s determined to get it to work, though, and is hopeful he’ll have it taken care of soon. He’s so focused on his task, that he doesn’t even notice her approach until she’s right at his side, leaning her hip against the terminal. He blinks at her, surprised by her sudden appearance. She’s changed from her civvies into the Alliance uniform, the outfit fitting her rather nicely if he were to notice. Which he doesn’t, or at least shouldn’t. Her eyes are on him, watching, but totally unreadable.

“Heard you got into a tiff with Briggs.”

“A _tiff_?” It was barely an argument, really. She just raises an eyebrow, though, apparently not willing to debate word usage.

“Mind telling?”

He scratches the back of his neck and shifts his feet, uncomfortable. How do you tell your commander that someone else said they had slept their way through the ranks? “He had implied that you were only promoted because…”

“I slept with everyone?” she supplies and his eyebrows rise in brief surprise. Her gaze is steady, though, unchanging. “Heard that one.” He almost expects a denial or explanation, but she doesn’t give him one and that’s fine, because she certainly doesn’t owe him one. “Look, Lieutenant-”

“Kaidan.”

“What?”

His face reddens. “I mean, you can call me Kaidan. Sometimes. If you want.” Does he sound like an idiot? He feels like one.

She watches him for a moment that feels like forever, his nerves growing. There’s something about her eyes that make him feel like she can see right through him, to the very essence of him and all of the dirty secrets he keeps. He feels almost vulnerable under her gaze and he has no idea what to make of it. Finally, she does speak and he’s not sure how he feels about her blunt dismissal of his previous statement. “Look, Lieutenant, I appreciate it when people have my back, but I can also handle myself.” There’s something about that statement that makes it feel truer than anything else she’s said to him. Her gaze remains pinned to his and he knows she’s serious and that she wants her message to get across, so he nods earnestly so that she’ll know it has.

“Of course, ma’am.” She watches him for a moment more, before nodding and glancing away. She stands straight and moves to leave, but hesitates. She lets out a breath, before looking back to him.

“If I ever do need backup, though, I’ll let you know.” He nods, offering a small, hesitant grin and she returns it with one that seems earnest enough, before walking away.

There’s one rumor he’s heard that he now knows is true: Commander Shepard is a mystery.

**Author's Note:**

> Also on [tumblr](http://bxtgrl.tumblr.com/post/158160336967/the-starting-point). <3


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